School Begins
by thewizardanthedragon
Summary: AU - Sam, fictional son of Abby and Tim, is headed off to kindergarten. He is not happy about the prospect. !WARNING - Physical discipline of child may occur in later chapters - DON'T LIKE - DON'T READ!
1. Chapter 1

A/N - Hello readers! I am very very very sorry that I have been unable to write until now... RL has been beyond busy, crazy, stressful and FULL... meaning that I cannot find even 2 mintues to write a thing... I have 3 new stories that I am working on... and have decided to post the start... for those who have waited for a long long time... thank you... Things are now on an even keel here... so hopefully... I will be able to update regularly...

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Sam needed to learn everything the hard way. That was just how Sam was. He was the kind of kid that if you told not to touch the hot stove he would do it to see if it really was hot. But Sam was smart. Not the kind of smart that most parents brag about. He was measurably smarter than most kids. Understandable really with the two parents he had. The thing was that even with Luc having skipped a grade Sam still out shone his older brother in academics. Having learned to read before going to school as well as understanding simple mathematic concepts well before that, Abby and Tim decided that the Catholic school they sent their eldest too was probably not prepared to keep Sam busy enough to keep him out of trouble. Since they were already there often enough trying to get Luc challenging work. So when it came time to register him they found a small school geared towards children like Sam.

Even with the different choice for education the first day of school did not go smoothly. Why either Abby or Tim thought it might was silly in hind sight. Tim drove to Luc's school first, waving from the car window as Luc headed into class. Tim turned in his seat, prepared to say a few encouraging words to his youngest but changed his mind when he saw the scowl on Sam's face. Instead he simply put the car in gear and headed towards Sam's school.

Neither father nor son said anything as Tim unbuckled the seatbelt, disembarked from the vehicle or walked up the stairs. As Tim headed towards the kindergarten classroom Sam's pace slowed considerably. He dragged each foot as he ever so slowly made his way towards his father who was now waiting further down the hall. Tim held out his hand in hopes of offering some sort of support without getting into things verbally, a place that Sam could keep them stalled for a very long time. However Sam was wise to his father's efforts and remained at the opposite side of the hallway. "Com' on Monkeyshine your first day of school! How exciting!" Tim tried hoping to get his youngest in the right frame of mind for this new experience. Sam rolled his eyes at his father's efforts. He had never been one to be swayed by hype. "I still don't understand why I have to go to school. You taught me to read and Luke has been teaching me math. I don't need to come here." Sam whispered to himself.

As Tim was about to engage in yet another discussion of 'why' Miss Bauer, the kindergarten teacher, came to his rescue. "Good Morning Sam, I'm so glad you came to school today! Come into class and see what everyone is doing." With a last pleading look at his dad Sam shuffled towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Tim watched as Miss Bauer ushered his youngest into the classroom and with great enthusiasm took Sam on a tour of the different shelves throughout the room. Tim smiled, hoping deeply that Sam would have a great experience today so that tomorrow's drop off would go easier. Tim knew that if things went south today, tomorrow would be next to impossible to get Sam willingly into the school.

Turning away he looked over his shoulder one last time as Sam took a book from the shelf and sat in the reading corner eyeing the rest of the class' inhabitants wearily.

Tim drove to work and headed immediately to Abby's lab. He had promised her an update and needed to hear the reassurance that everything would be work out alright from his loving wife. Abby chuckled when Tim explained the scene he'd left. Confused he asked "what's so funny?"

Tapping him gently on the cheek she replied "I'm laughing because you think that there is hope that things will go smoothly! Have you met our son? The youngest one that is… Sam… he's 5 … he doesn't like new things, he doesn't like not being at home, he doesn't like groups of people, he doesn't normally get along well with children his own age." She smiled as Tim's grimace turned to a look of terror. "Oh Timmy, it will be ok….I'm sure they won't call us on the very first day of school!"

His wife's nonchalance at his worry hurt his feelings, as well as saddened him that she had so little positive thoughts about the outcome of today. Abby caught Tim's change in demeanor and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "It's going to be ok. It really is, he's in the best place we could find for him, and it will just take a bit of time for Sam to get to know everyone and for Miss Bauer to understand him." She then hugged her slightly less downcast partner. Turning him towards the door with a gentle push Abby called out "I have work to do, you have work to do, Sam will survive until 3:30 when I go to get him."

Deciding that throwing himself into the most recent case of embezzlement and murder would be the best way to keep him from worrying about his little boy, Tim got to work right away.


	3. Chapter 3

Once Tim sat at his desk he became engrossed in his task. 'Follow the money' seems like such a simple instruction, but when someone is hell bent on hiding it the route is not always so clear. Knee deep in bank statements, credit card bills and IP addresses Tim was able to leave his worry alone and focus heavily on what was in front of him.

Abby was hot on the electronic money trail along with Tim however unlike her husband the job didn't keep her mind fully occupied and she wondered how her youngest was fairing at school. Abby understood her son, and that was the problem. She knew with every fiber of her body that he was not going to easily fit into any educational learning environment. There was a slight 'niggling' in the pit of her stomach that even an ice cold 'Caf-Pow' couldn't quench. Years from now Abby would realize that every time she left Sam at school, camp or a birthday party the 'niggling' would reside deep in her gut until she was once again reunited with her youngest offspring.

It wasn't as if Abby was staring at the clock, or anxious to the point of any inability to concentrate on her job. And so it was actually the alarm she had set on her computer that signal to her it was time to go and get Sam from school. It had been arranged that Kyla would get Sam from school each day and take him home. It would be Kyla that made supper most nights and sat with the boys while they finished up any homework. Luc was old enough to care for Sam but because Abby and Tim's schedule was so mixed up they would never know how long they were gone, they preferred to have Kyla there as back up. And unlike Luc's school, Sam's was not within walking distance and Kyla now had a car. But today, the first of Sam's real school career, it was Abby's privilege to pick him up.

Since Abby had to go up to the bullpen en route to get to the parking garage she stopped off at Tim's desk to give him a quick kiss and wish him luck at finding the elusive evidence. Tim smiled and waved without raising his head, the pen clasped in his fingers as he did it.

Abby was driving much more quickly then she would normally and ended up at the school before the final bell rang. She sat in her car, as did many other parents, waiting for the doors to be unlocked. She smiled as she realized the only people there were folks she'd seen at the introduction tour the week before. She wasn't the only kindergarten parent anxious to pick up their child on the first day.


	4. Chapter 4

As the secretary unlocked the door a dozen or so parents got out of their vehicles and made a bee line for the door. Abby took a few seconds to allow the rest of the crowd to go through the door first. By the time she arrived at the entrance of the kindergarten room there was a small crowd of adults apprehensively peering into the classroom.

Abby being taller than most was able to see over many of the others heads but she still couldn't see her young son in the group of children sitting in a circle on the carpet. A young assistant teacher began calling each child's name and saying goodbye as they reunited with their parent. Abby's heart began to beat a little harder as each child exited and she could still not see Sam. They would have called if he had gone missing wouldn't have they? As the crowd thinned Abby shuffled forward clutching her bag to her chest keeping her hands busy so that they weren't wringing. Once closer she could see Sam sitting on a big comfy chair off to the side of the classroom his nose shoved in a book and his knees pulled up to his chest.

Miss Bauer's assistant caught Abby's eye and almost unperceptively nodded towards the classroom. Abby with raised eyebrows pointed at herself and quietly asked "me"? "Yes, Miss Bauer would like a word with you before you leave if that is alright." "Of course" Abby answered her heart beating faster again and her stomach in her throat. Her eldest son was 11 and she had been 'that' parent on a number of occasions but was unsure about how this teacher and school would deal with issues.

Abby slipped into the class and headed towards the teacher's desk waiting for Miss Bauer to say her goodbyes to the rest of the students.

Sam peered over the top of his book and then quickly hid once he saw his mother standing in the classroom. He was reading only half-heartedly when Miss Bauer joined his mother at the desk. He listened to them although neither was being quiet and it was obvious he was supposed to be hearing their conversation.

"Thank you for stopping in Ms. Scuito. I just wanted to have a word with you about a few issues we encountered today."

"Of course how may I help?" Abby asked sweetly. She wanted to seem cooperative as she felt this might be a common occurrence and she wanted to make sure the teacher and school knew she would support them and their rules.

"While the class was having some fun in the gym Sam disappeared. We couldn't find him anywhere. We had to go into 'lockdown' mode as we had no idea how he had left or where he was." Miss Bauer's face was strained yet she was forcing her voice to remain calm and even. She glanced at the young boy on the chair throughout her explanation.

Abby grit her teeth before answering. "Oh my gosh. Where did he go?" Abby too was forcing a level conversation. Sam knew better than to disappear. The family story of his older brother taking off was an example of what not to do.

"Once in lockdown each teacher is to do an attendance of their class and report to the office. The librarian had an extra child in her care that wasn't supposed to be there." Pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows while directing her glare at Sam. "It seems he didn't want to participate in the games and chose instead to find the library without asking permission or telling anyone where he was going. As you can imagine Ms. Scuito this is completely unacceptable. The children need to stay with their class at all times."

"Yes I do understand. For sure I will have a conversation with him this evening. I am sure he won't be doing that again." She shot Sam a look as he slid down the chair further hiding behind his knees and book as if layers would assist in his attempts to sink into the ground.

"Since I have you here I thought we could address another issue. I wouldn't normally say anything on the first day as many children need time to adjust but in light of the tendency to take off when he doesn't like what is going on I think maybe a discussion about participating or passing respectfully might be needed as well."

"What happened?" Abby had to change her tone part way through the sentence as her annoyance was seeping in.

"Sam was not interested in participating in most of our activities. Which as I said I understand, many children need more time to adjust. However Sam turned down his invitation with snide comments or inappropriate glares."

"Oh" was all Abby could say as she was getting angrier with her offspring as the moments ticked by. They had had many conversations about expected behaviours, what to do in situations he was unsure of or uncomfortable with. Although it may have been his first day of "big school" he had been to playschool for 2 years and was more than capable of declining an invitation kindly.

As Miss Bauer stood expectantly Abby felt she had to say something more. "No need to worry Miss Bauer, Sam and I will discuss his actions and tomorrow he will make much wiser choices."

Sam's swallowing could be heard from across the room. Abby left her post beside the desk and went to collect her wayward son. Crouching down in front of Sam she tipped the book away from his face to find and unexpected expression. Normally Sam would be angry and frustrated however he looked hurt. Abby took the book from him and gently set it in the basket next to the reading chair. She took Sam's hand and without any words the two left the classroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Abby drove home in silence. Every so often peeking in the rear view mirror to observe her youngest. His petulant scowl was not winning him any points and she had to remind herself that she needed time to think, calm down so that the conversation she was going to have was a fruitful one.

Sam remained cross armed and scowling. When they arrived in the driveway he threw off his seat belt and headed for the door before Abby had even collected her things.

Sam stood at the side door staring straight ahead waiting for his mother to catch up. Abby, keys in hand, approached and with all the calm she had gained instructed Sam to head straight to his room and she would be up shortly once she had her things arranged.

Sam didn't need the instruction, his first instinct was to head to his room when things didn't go well. His room was his comfort zone, a place he could regroup and think. A place he could be alone. Something he cherished. He enjoyed time playing on his own, making up his own stories, thinking about the world. And on days like today when the world was against you, then your room was your sanctuary. Or at least that was what Sam felt.

Abby entered the house, changed her boots, hung up her jacket and headed with her bag to the office she shared with McGee. She took her time to set up her laptop, go through a few papers and even open her email. As she was about to read a few work notices Lucas burst through the door. His exuberance was so contrasting to how she felt she was unprepared to welcome him home. "Hey mom!" he called into her.

"Hi Lucas… I'm just looking over a few things… I'll be out shortly… did you have a good day?" she replied.

"Yep… great day… all went well… I like my homeroom teacher… in 7th grade you get to move from class to class for each subject… I'm going to need a few things that we didn't get already" he explained loudly as he rummaged through the kitchen looking for a snack.

"I'll hear all about it as soon as I finish up. We can go out on the weekend and get the things you don't have" Abby tried hard to sound upbeat and enthusiastic. Talking about every day items and easy chatter was helping her see things more clearly. She was much calmer and decided that by the time she answered the 2 emails posted as urgent she would be in fine shape to have a discussion with her son.

Abby could hear Luc finish in the kitchen and head up the stairs. She didn't bother telling him to leave Sam alone he didn't normally head to his brother's room anyway. So when she was about to enter Sam's bedroom and heard two voices she stopped cold. Luc's tone was the one he used when he was trying to convince his younger sibling of something. This could be anything from 'please behave' to 'come on you really do want to share your candy with me'.

Eavesdropping was not a positive virtue however it did glean much information from time to time. And Abby was not against having a short listen to find out what her boys were doing.

"What do you mean your first day of school sucked?" Luc asked his little brother.

"It sucked 'cause all I did was get in trouble" Sam barked.

"That can't be true" Lucas replied he was used to his brother's exaggerations.

"It is and Abby sent me to my room and didn't even ask my side or anything" Sam pouted.

"Has mom talked to you about today yet?" Lucas verified knowing that both of his parents had high expectations of them but wouldn't normally jump to conclusions or not allow the boys to voice their opinion or side of the story.

"No" Sam answered.

"Well then if she hasn't talked to you yet then how could she not have listened to your side of the story?" Lucas asked somewhat confused.

"Because she is already angry and she shouldn't be because there is nothing I did that she should be angry at" Sam explained, making Luc all the more confused as his brother wasn't really explaining anything.

"Ok… how about you tell me what happened… then I can help you figure out what to say to mom and …" Luc didn't get to finish before Sam flew into his diatribe.

"I didn't want to play their stupid baby games and they kept trying to make me so I said no and no thank you and everything… and I tried to say I'm not interested in that right now… just like Abby told me to say at play school last year… and you know what… you know what… they said… this is what we are doing come now… and the yelled at me… come now… Well I'm not a dog… and I don't come now… and I said I wasn't interested nice." Sam then stopped to catch his breath giving Luc an in to the conversation.

"So how did you get in trouble?" if you spoke nicely and politely and you declined how mom taught you then I don't understand how you got into trouble.

Sam continued to sit on his bed but began fidgeting with the blanket and after finding Ellie his stuffed elephant in the sheets he began rubbing its ears across his cheek; a sign that he was stressed or hiding something.

"What did you do Sam?" Lucas asked sounding very fatherly.

"I …. Might 'a yelled back at them… but I did ask nice first… I tried to do it right… but they wouldn't listen to me…. " Sam's furrowed brow and pursed lips spoke as much about how he was feeling as his words.

"Oh… I see… and the teacher told mom that you were rude?" Lucas clarified.

"uh huh" Sam nodded.

"Well…. I think your best move would be to tell mom all about how you asked so nicely and politely and that it didn't work and when it didn't work you got flustered and weren't sure what to do…" Lucas offered.

"I didn't get flustered….I got mad" Sam corrected. Abby still standing in the hallway had to hold back the snigger that was coming out.

"Right… I understand Sam… but I was thinking if you explained that the reason you got mad was you weren't sure how else to get your point across … then mom would understand your position a little better" Luc tried again.

"Oh" Sam sat, his thinking face plastered on his visage.

"If that's it then you should be fine… mom will remind you how to respond … maybe help you with what to do if the teacher doesn't listen… and maybe she'll even talk to the teacher like she did last year at play school so that they understand why you don't want to participate." Abby was so proud of both her boys as she stood back against the wall listening. Luc, the big brother, trying so hard to help out and Sam listening calmly working together to solve a problem.

Luc patted Sam's lap and headed for the door when Sam shouted out "wait". Luc turned back to see his little brother, who rarely cried, on the verge of full blown tears. "What" Luc asked confused once again.

"That's not the only bad thing I did today" Sam spilled out as fast as he could hoping his big brother wouldn't leave yet.

"What else did you do?" Luc couldn't keep his exasperation from his voice. Sam's expression changed to anger but softened quickly when Luc apologized for his words.

"Well what did you do?" Luc asked more calmly this time "I can't help you if I don't know all the details".

"I went to the library" Sam said without any further explanation.

"You went to the library… that doesn't normally get students into trouble… did you do something wrong in the library?" Luc knew Sam was holding back but wasn't sure of the tact to take on this one.

"No… I just read a book… in the library…" Sam was interrupted by Luc's question "Then why are you in trouble for going to the library?"

"I think it is because the rest of the class was in the gym and I kinda went to the library to read instead of playing the stupid baby games and I might not have told anyone I was going there" Sam ventured.

"You think… you think that might have been the problem… Sam… do you understand how this family feels about one of its members disappearing? Have you not listened to any of the stories…. Someone brings up my running away …like every gathering…. "

"I know… I know…. It was just so loud… and they were playing duck duck goose and I hate being touched by everyone and I hate the shouting … and I just couldn't deal with it… so I asked to go to the bathroom… and no one answered me so I figured I was ok… and then I thought I didn't want to go back there and I thought of a quiet place… and well… I ended up at the library… "

Both boys sat staring at each other. The oldest trying to figure out how to help the other while the youngest waited for some sort of direction.

"Sam…. I hate to say this but…. I can't think of how to spin that one… disappearing …. That is just one of those great big no no's … and mom knows you know that….and mom knows you know that… you couldn't not know that…"

"But I don't want to get in trouble" Sam whined.

"Then don't go missing!" Lucas exclaimed.

"You are supposed to be helping me" Sam yelled back. Abby was about to intervene when she heard Luc take a deep breath and say "Ok Sam.. I am helping you…just give me a minute to think… " Luc sat on the edge of his brother's bed and then dragged himself across the blankets to be beside his younger sibling. He looked at Sam's eyes that were both questioning and sad. He carefully put his arm around Sam, an action that could sometime land him with a punch to the arm, but he felt was the right thing to do this time.

"Sam… how did they find you?" Luc asked gently.

Sam hung his head and whispered just loud enough for Luc to hear "They did a lockdown and the library lady found me. Lucas had to use every fiber of his body to not say "your screwed kid" out loud. Instead he let his head fall back against the wall and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Ok… well that complicates things a little… about how long do you think you were missing?" Luc tried.

"I don't know… I read a book and looked at another one… I wasn't looking at a clock" Sam was tired, stressed and now exasperated at Luc not fixing it fast enough.

"Ok… I think your best choice for this little fiasco is to just come clean about doing it and that you had reasons… mom understands you don't like those games and why… and she understands you don't like loud places… so she'll understand the reason…. But… about going missing… you'll just have to promise not to do it again…. And maybe ask how to solve the problem another way… that's it" Luc was happy he'd come up with a plan.

"Sam… you need to explain why you did it… just like you did to me… and then say you don't want to go missing but you had no idea how to solve the problem and you wanted to avoid a meltdown… so you went to a quiet spot… you didn't leave the school so you thought it would be ok…. And then ask mom how to do it right next time… got it?" Luc asked excitedly.

"Yep" Sam's head nodding in understanding. Luc slid off the bed and he headed for the door. "It'll be ok" he reassured his younger brother. Luc wasn't sure it would be completely ok, but he felt that he had given Sam the best chance if Sam stuck to the story plan.


	6. Chapter 6

Luc was about to cross the hall to his own room when he walked straight into his mother. "oh hi mom" he said nonchalantly, he wasn't ever to be in his siblings room if he had been sent there for reflection. "Hello Lucas" Abby said smirking at his guilty smile and careful steps towards his own room. She was too happy with his brotherly love and help to be too upset with him disobeying the family rule. She was also glad for it as she may not have taken enough time to drag out of Sam what exactly was going on.

Sam's bursts of anger often meant that the adult dealing with him didn't make sure they had the whole story. She felt guilty the time she was that adult, but understood how Sam was often his own worst enemy.

Abby entered his room to find him sitting, back against the wall legs crossed in front of him and Ellie in his hands. The bed sheets and blankets a mess around him. He looked sort of lost sitting there.

"Hey monkeyshine…rough first day of school uh?" Abby began.

"Yep" he answered into his elephant's ear.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked really wanting to hear about how things went south for him from his point of view and also to see if he used any of his brother's suggestions.

"Nah" Sam answered.

"I would have thought you would have wanted me to hear your side of the story. Miss Bauer's story had a lot of things missing from it, I think, don't you?" Abby asked again.

"She didn't tell you that I asked nice at first to not play" Sam choked out.

"uh huh" Abby tried to stay quiet as she knew Sam was more likely to keep going without having a lot of interruptions.

"I did Abby… I really did… I asked nice… just like you told me to do at playschool if there was something I wasn't interested in doing… but they kept asking and asking …. And then when I said no I wasn't coming they said COME NOW" with the last two words he furrowed his brow and wagged his finger in Abby's face.

"That made you angry?" Abby offered.

"Yep" Ellie was being rubbed against his face as he answered.

"Do you remember what I told you about letting your anger out?" Abby inquired gently.

"I do now… I couldn't then" Sam explained looking up at her for the first time.

"Well.. how about this… I talk to Miss Bauer about listening to you when you request to sit out of games and you promise me you will ask nicely and if you get angry you will keep it in check… but I'd better not hear that you are abusing these requests or using them to get out of work or lessons…"

"No…I won't … I promise… just stupid baby games and really loud things" Sam explains his face brightening.

"That brings us to the other little problem with today" Abby continued.

Sam didn't even voice an acknowledgment. He turned his head and rubbed Ellie's ear even more vigorously.

"Sam you can't ever disappear. Your teacher, Kayla, me, your dad…anyone who is looking after you… MUST know at all times were you are… ALWAYS…" Abby explained knowing that Sam was listening even though he wasn't looking in her direction.

"I need an answer Sam" Abby stated more firmly.

"I know. I just needed to leave. It was too loud. I didn't know what the right thing to do was. I needed to get away from the shouting" Sam whispered.

Sam was still turned away from his mother and so didn't see the grin that spread across her face when he had in fact used his brother's suggestion.

"Well then let's come up with a plan for next time you find yourself in this situation, shall we?" Abby agreed.

Together they talked about how Sam could ask politely to be removed from the very loud situation and how he wasn't to abuse this request either as Abby would address Sam's needs with his teacher. He couldn't be the first kid to get overwhelmed by too much noise. Sam was feeling much happier and lighter as their conversation wrapped up.

Abby stood up and turned to face the bed. She crooked her finger to summon her littlest to her. He slowly but without hesitancy scooted forward on the bed and stood down on the floor in front of her. Sam looked up into her face trying to read its expression. Abby gently placed her hand on his back and drew him towards her, he stiffened slightly as his chest rested against her legs. He was pretty sure he knew what was happening next and screwed his eyes up in anticipation. Abby only swatted his backside twice, but did so firmly. Just enough to produce a bit of a sting before letting him stand straight again.

"That young man was a reminder about taking off. It is to never, ever happen again" Abby stated gruffly.

"I know" Sam barked back stomping his foot lightly but leaning back against the bed to make any further reminders difficult. Abby only raised an eyebrow and Sam's expression and demeanor softened.

Abby leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Com'on Monkeyshine, why don't you go collect your brother and bring him down to the kitchen and we can all make supper together."

Abby descended the stairs as Sam burst through Lucas's bedroom door.


End file.
